Bleeding Tears, Crying Blood

I woke the next morning when the sun was nearing its halfway mark in the sky. I blinked heavily and rubbed my eyes hard before some level of concentration came to me. Yawning and groaning as I stretched, I looked about my light room before I realised Wolfram hadn’t woken me as promised. I touched the small toy that lay limp at my side. White wasn’t with me either.

Scooping him up, I trundled out of the room cautiously, glancing around the mouth of the staircase, before I sought out Wolfram. The first place that came to mind was the study. I called softly out for him but found he wasn’t there. The chair beside the cluttered desk and pillars of books was vacant. I bit my lip and placed my hands on my hips as I stared about the room one last time. Where had he gone? I couldn’t tell if he was in the house, which confused me. I could always tell where people were, especially when I know their scents and essence. Wolfram was still practically invisible. Might be because he’s mortal, I thought as I turned from the study and began to wonder down the hall, opening and closing doors absentmindedly. I didn’t know many of the Mortal World so it could be possible I don’t sense them as sharply as I do with the immortals.

I trundled through the house until I reached the halls of the second floor. There I roamed the dimly lit halls, like a ghost in its haunt, until I found a door that was slightly ajar. I stopped and stared. There was a shirt in the way, preventing it from closing properly. This must be where Wolfram was hiding.

I nudged the door open with my foot and stuck my head inside. It was dark in the large room but I could see perfectly fine, although I wish I couldn’t. Like the study, this place was chaos, although books and papers had been replaced with clothes and papers. I stepped into the room, tiptoeing my way across the hazardous floor and trying to avoid as much of the papers as I could, I came to a stop before the large bed. Sprawled out on his front lay Wolfram, deep in sleep and only partially dressed.

I hesitated before I gently prodded his back. He woke almost instantly. His eyes snapped open then narrowed when they settled on my face peering down at him.

“What do you want?” He asked irritably.

“It is beyond midday, Wolfram. You said you would wake me at dawn yet you are still asleep.” I said calmly.

Wolfram’s hand shot out and harnessed the clock beside his bed. The small hands pointed at the numbers that confirmed what I said. He growled in annoyance and launched himself onto his feet. Shoving me to one side, he darted into the neighbouring room which was revealed to be the bathroom a few minutes later when the sound of running water could be heard and he reappeared with a slightly damp face. He began a hurried search for clean clothes, something that was in short supply. As he hunted, I sat down to get myself out of the way, and watched quietly with my blank expression and unblinking eyes.

“Why sleep so late?” I asked absentmindedly from my perch on his bed. It bewildered me how someone could live in such a mess.

“It’s not like I wanted to.” He said as he pulled out a crumpled shirt and sniffed it to see if it smelt as bad as the rest. “I just went to bed latter than I planned last night.” He pulled on the grey shirt and hurriedly did the buttons up. Obviously it didn’t smell that bad. “Come.” He demanded and grabbed my arm, pulling me from the room.

He strode downstairs, forcing me to jog after him, as he darted towards the kitchen. I watched silently as he rummaged around, finding me food and boiling the kettle.

“What is the rush?”

“I was meant to have called someone this morning. They’re not going to be pleased if they don’t hear from me any time soon.” He hesitated as he pulled a bowl at from a cupboard. “They’re probably already very angry already actually.”

He placed the bowl on the side and threw a box at me. While I observed the cereal he had flung across the table, he hurriedly poured hot water into a cup.

“I will be shut up for an hour at least. Do what you want just don’t stray too far from here for too long. The Branch will be watching out for you but that doesn’t mean you should be doing anything reckless.”

“They’ll be watching even at this hour in the day?”

“Even at this hour in the day.” He confirmed. “Just try to keep your head low and your nose clean.”

As soon as I nodded in acceptance, he left me alone to fend for myself in the kitchen. I turned and stared at the bowl in front of me then at the box in my hands, slightly perplexed. While my mother had taught me to do many things, cooking, or anything to do with food, was something I was not familiar with. Whenever my mother sent me to the kitchens in hopes I would learn something, I would only end up sitting in the corner, waiting for the cook, who I dubbed Cook, to prepare something for me. He always insisted. That and he didn’t want to leave his beloved kitchen in the hands of a small girl. I didn’t mind. I always found watching how the kitchen worked at home interesting. While they were humans, they acted like a Pack almost, moving in sync and working to aid one another instinctively. I glanced about the current kitchen I stood in. It was barren of life and activity. A sense of loss gnawed at my stomach horribly. I missed Cook and his pack of humans.

I glanced down at my chest when I felt something move in my hand. White inflated with life and began to wriggle gently. I put him next to the bowl and watched as he stood up and pulled his long ears from under his feet. He wobbled for a moment then let his head flop back so he could look up at me.

“Good afternoon, Alma.” He welcomed.

“Good afternoon, White.” I replied.

He glanced at the object sitting beside him and gate it a hard poke. “What’s the bowl for?”

“So I can eat. Wolfram gave it to me to use. He also gave me this.” I put the cereal box on the side.

White titled his head. “Do you know how to even make porridge?”

“No.”

His head titled to the other side. “You are useless, aren’t you?”

My face remained perfectly intact but it changed from a pale white to a warm red.

“Put me on your shoulder. I’ll show you how.” White instructed with laughter in his voice.

Grudgingly I did as he said and placed him on my shoulder. With him guiding me, I managed to make myself some food. It was surprisingly easy for something that appeared quite complicated but White put that down to my stupidity as he quite kindly told me. I ate with pride and cleaned up quickly afterwards. Once that was done I was left with not much to do. I then remembered the amount of books that the shelves held in the library. No doubt there would be something in there for me to read. With White clutched to my chest, I floated out of the kitchen and came to hover silently outside of the study door. I pressed my ear to it and heard the low rumbling of Wolfram speaking. He sounded calm, informative even, by his tone. I decided it wouldn’t be wise to disturb him.

“What should I do?” I murmured to myself as I walked unhurriedly back to my room.

I reached the top floor, the floor before my tower room anyway, when I down the corridor that led to Wolfram’s room. I tilted my head then glided my way towards Wolfram’s chaotic room. White flinched when we entered.

“This isn’t Wolfram’s, is it?” He asked as I placed him on the bed, the one place I knew I wouldn’t lose him.

I nodded my head in confirmation and White scrutinised the room in shock. It took him a while to notice that I was kneeling in the middle of room, sifting through the sea of clothes.

“You’re not planning to clean in here?”

I shrugged. “Just the clothes. It bothers me.” I said as I threw clothes at the door that needed cleaning the most. “I will dust in here properly when I have the chance.”

White shrugged and sat at the edge of the bed. I continued to work as he spoke to me softly about things back home. Apparently the battle that had exploded three days ago had calmed. Gabor was being co-operative with my father now that the Elders now were involved but , as he refused to give any reason than he wanted me as his Bride, both Clans were at a standoff. Neither made a move to attack but neither did they back down from defence as the Elders kept them in check. White didn’t like this strained calm and sudden co-operation on Gabor’s part.

“Feels like he is biding time.”

“What for?” I asked as I placed him on my shoulder and picked up the first pile of filthy clothes.

“I don’t know but be careful. Gabor is not willing to show his cards yet and the Elders are not going to force him as he has given a reasonable reason for his forceful claim of you.”

I snorted softly as I made my way downstairs in search of the washing machine. “Reasonable claim. That vampire has no claim over me.”

“You are a Blue Blood, so is he. Demanding you to be his Bride is reasonable Alma. He knows this. The Elders know this. Even your father knows this.”

“So now it’s a waiting game?”

“Apparently so.” White growled. His mood had darkened considerably and right now he was quite angry. “Just sit tight. Your father will think of something. He won’t let Gabor take you.”

I hummed softly in doubt. Politics was always a sticky situation. It was far easier to rip out the threat’s throat than sit in a room, strained by laws. I sighed heavily and pressed the button so the machine whirred into life. The Elders were on my side, I knew that, but if Gabor was as old and powerful as I thought he was, then he knew the loopholes in the rules. My father would be playing chess with him now that he had drawn the politics card.

I leaned against the door frame, grumbling to myself. I didn’t know what to do now. It wasn’t like I had brought much with me.

“You could go outside? Have a look around the town. A proper look.” White suggested, guessing I was now bored.

I paused then and a small smile tried to tug at my mouth. “Yes, yes I will. I had forgotten about him.”

White stiffened as I began to walk again. “Who?”

“You know who. I think I shall go introduce myself to him.” I said in a tone that almost gave away my enthusiasm.

White sagged in defeat at hearing that rare tone. “If you must Alma. Just, please, don’t get yourself into trouble.”

“I won’t.” I said and kissed his head.

He fell silent as he always did after my brief shows of affection and I flounced my way happily upstairs in search of a shower and clothes before I set off on my first hunt.